


Wanderer

by dwarrowdams



Series: Tolkientober [1]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Tolkientober, idk how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26758558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwarrowdams/pseuds/dwarrowdams
Summary: Eadgyd and Lottie see a strange man at the Easterly Inn.  Set in TA 2957 and written for Tolkientober.
Series: Tolkientober [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949476
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: All the Eadgyd All the Time





	Wanderer

**Author's Note:**

> So I know Tolkientober is technically an art challenge, but I'm writing because my drawing skills are still evolving (meaning that I'm confident in my ability to draw rabbits and flowers, but not people).
> 
> This is my post for Day 1, which is a favorite character. Of course I picked Aragorn because he's one of my ride-or-die faves. I've always wanted to write about those years where he wanders Middle-earth and this prompt gave me the perfect opportunity.
> 
> I figured that in his wandering, Aragorn might cross paths with some other adventurers, so this piece is told through the POV of my Adventures in Middle-earth character, Eadgyd the Sad. Some of y'all may have read about her in my other pieces, but if you haven't, all you need to know is that she's a Beorning slayer nearly in her forties (she's about 38 when this piece takes place) who lost one arm in battle years ago and now has a prosthetic. Lottie, the other character featured in this piece, is another player's character (a Hobbit healer who's in her early twenties).

Eadgyd always looked forward to catching up with her friends at the Easterly Inn. However, in her excitement, she’d arrived a bit early and was one of two people in the inn, the other being a young man who sat alone in the corner, his hood pulled over his face. He seemed harmless enough, but Eadgyd knew from experience that men who seemed harmless were still capable of inflicting harm.

She sipped her mead and tried not to be too obvious as she looked at him. It was hard to tell with his hood obscuring much of his face, but he seemed to be a young man. His clothes and boots had some wear, but were clearly in good condition. He couldn’t have been adventuring for long—and if he had, he was able to clean and mend his clothes frequently.

A gentle nudge to her shoulder drew Eadgyd out of her thoughts. She smiled as she saw Lottie, one of her companions, enter the inn. The Hobbit looked even smaller than normal surrounded by the inn’s human-sized furniture and mugs.

“You’re here early,” she said as she sat down beside Eadgyd, her feet swinging in the air.

“I got too excited to see everyone,” Eadgyd confessed.

Lottie grinned. “So did I,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I’m glad you’re here, though—it’s awfully quiet.”

Eadgyd nodded, lowering her voice as she leaned closer to Lottie. “See that man over there?” she said, gesturing subtly in his direction. “Can you get a sense of him? I can’t tell if he might mean harm or if I’m just paranoid.”

The Hobbit twisted so that she could get a better view of the man, studying him covertly as she pretended to fix her hair. After a few moments, she shook her head.

“I think he’s just watchful,” she said. “If he meant us harm, he’d be more focused, but it just seems like he’s trying to get a sense of the place.”

Eadgyd breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing. Part of her still wanted to worry, but Lottie’s instincts were rarely wrong. If she said that the man had no ill intentions, Eadgyd believed her.

“Good,” she said. “I’ve had enough bad experiences with men in inns and taverns who meant me harm. I certainly don’t need any more of those.”

Lottie made a sympathetic noise and squeezed Eadgyd’s good hand. “You’ve had too many bad things happen to you.”

Eadgyd laughed softly, nodding in agreement. “If it makes you feel any better, most of those men wound up getting punched,” she said. “And not by me: by my brother. I learned to bear the comments and stares that one endures as a woman, but he was not one to let any man mistreat me, even if the only harm was a passing remark in a bar.”

“Your brother sounds wonderful,” Lottie said, grinning.

“He was,” Eadgyd said, a bit of melancholy creeping into her tone.

Just then, the barkeep came over to take Lottie’s order: a small cup of ale and a pastry. Before she could rush off to fetch Lottie’s things, Eadgyd held up a hand to stop her.

“One moment,” she said. “Do you know anything of that man over there?”

The barkeep nodded. “A Ranger, I think, although I don’t know from where he hails,” she said. “There’s something peculiar about him: not bad, just...different than any of the other wanderers I’ve met. He’s always polite to me and the rest of the staff, so if you’re worried about him doing harm, it doesn’t seem likely.”

Eadgyd nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “You’ve set me at ease.”

“Good—glad to be of help,” she said, nodding before she rushed off to fetch Lottie’s food and drink.

“That makes sense,” Lottie said. “Besides, anyone who means harm will look fairer than he to draw people in.”

“Wise words from someone so young,” Eadgyd said. “You’re right, of course—it often holds that the good folk in these lands will feel fair, even when they look foul. Those with foul hearts will often go to great lengths to keep up appearances in hopes that no one sees what truly lies within.”

“There’s something to chew on,” Lottie said as the barkeep set her ale and pastry before her. “Something besides a scone, that is.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a lot of fun to write. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the rest of the Tolkientober challenges. I'm planning to write some things with canon characters, but will definitely be writing more about Eadgyd (and her family & friends) because right now, self-indulgent Tolkien fic is one of the things that brings me comfort.
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed!
> 
> Tumblr: dwarrowdams  
> Twitter: @_tenderqueer


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